Recoil starter

ABSTRACT

A recoil starter construction for internal combustion engines particularly suitable for use with engines of the type used with snowmobiles and other recreational vehicles subject to heavy duty use. The starter employs a lightweight plastic rope pulley having a radially spaced shoulder within a rope receiving groove, and rope guide means defined within the groove insure the laying of the rope in the groove during recoiling in a predetermined manner which minimizes rope bind during cranking. The starter also utilizes a cam dog of a generally flat configuration having an outer periphery including dog-extending and dog-retaining surfaces, the cam dog positively retaining the engine clutch engaging dogs against operative contact with the flywheel components when the starter has recoiled and rewound the starter rope.

Unite Hamrnan tates Pate [191 Jan.1,1974

1 RECOIL STARTER [75] Inventor: Lyle .l. Hamman, Eaton Rapids,

Mich.

July 29, 1971 [22] Filed:

[21] Appl. No.:

[52] US. Cl.... 123/185 B, 123/185 A, 123/185 BA, 192/43.1, 192/42,192/46 [51] Int. C1.Fl6d 11/06, F02n 1/00, F16d 13/04 [58] Field ofSearch 123/185 B, 185 BA, 123/1 A; l92/43.1, 42, 46

Martin 2,530,623 11/1950 123/185 2,597,334 5/1952 .lohnson..... 123/1853,570,464 3/1971 Morabit 123/185 Primary Examiner-Laurence M. GoodridgeAssistant Examiner-Ronald B. Cox Att0rneyTownsend F. Beaman et a1.

[57] ABSTRACT A recoil starter construction for internal combustionengines particularly suitable for use with engines of the type used withsnowmobiles and other recreational vehicles subject to heavy duty use.The starter employs a lightweight plastic rope pulley having a radiallyspaced shoulder within a rope receiving groove, and rope guide meansdefined within the groove insure the laying of the rope in the grooveduring recoiling in a predetermined manner which minimizes rope bindduring cranking. The starter also utilizes a cam dog of a generally flatconfiguration having an outer periph ery including dog-extending anddog-retaining surfaces, the cam dog positively retaining the engineclutch engaging dogs against operative contact with the flywheelcomponents when the starter has recoiled and rewound the starter rope.

4 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJ H974 3.782.355

' sum 1. or 3 INVENTOR LYLE J. HAMMAN ATTORNEYS sum. 2 OF 3 PATENTEBJANI I974 5 m TT INVENTOR LYLE J. HA

ATTORNEYS 'PATENTEU H974 3.782.355

I snmaars INVENTOR LY LE J. HAMMAN ATTORNEYS RECOIL STARTER BACKGROUNDOF THE INVENTION The invention pertains to recoil starters for heavyduty internal combustion engines using a starter rope wherein thestarter rope is coiled within a rope receiving groove defined in apulley operatively connected to engine driving clutch dogsj Recoilstarters for internal combustion engines of less than 7 HP have beenwidely employed, and such recoil starters for such small engines meetmanual starting requirements and have proven fully satisfactory withengines of this size range. The ability of the recoil starter toautomatically rewind the starter rope on the pulley has provided aconvenience long appreciated in the art and recoil starters have beendeveloped which provide dependable operation over long life cycles andsuch starters as shown in my US. Pat. Nos. 3,375,813 and 3,375,814 havebeen mass produced and have enjoyed widespread commercial acceptance.

The increased popularity of recreational vehicles such as snowmobiles,all terrain vehicles, and the like has increased the production oflarger horsepower engines such as in the range of 7 to 80 HP. Suchengines, if not electrically started, may be cranked with recoilstarters, but due to the size of the engine a heavier duty constructionis required than has been previously available. Also, due to seriousvibration problems occurring in larger horsepower engines the vibrationforces and wear imposed upon recoil starters used with larger enginesare significantly greater than with smaller engines. Accordingly, thedesign and construction of starters for use with larger internalcombustion engines is somewhat different than that employed with smallerengines, and many design features of starters used with smaller enginesare not available with the larger size of engine.

Recoil starters for larger capacity engines utilizing heavy metalstarter ropepulleys are subjected to vibrations and frequencies whichoften damage the pulleys and other starter components. Furthermore,recoil starters using radially extendable dogs must be of a more ruggedconstruction, and capable of a more positive operation than affordedwith previous starters. As the forces required to crank larger enginesmay be very high due to the size and compression of the engine, hightension forces within the starter rope are produced during crankingwhich often produce a binding of the starter rope within the rope pulleygroove during cranking which further adds to the force required to startsuch engines.

The problem of the starter rope binding within the pulley groove duringengine cranking has been treated in my US. Pat. No. 3,375,814, and thestructure disclosed therein is suitable for minimizing and preventingrope bind when cranking small horsepower engines. Hwever, the tensionforces produced within starter ropes when cranking larger sizes ofhorsepower engines creates very high tension forces upon the starterrope, which causes rope binding, and other problems which are notcompletely solved by the rope pulley construction shown in US. Pat. No.3,375,814.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the invention to provide arecoil starter for larger size internal combustion engines whereinsuperior resistance to vibration and wear is produced in an economicalstarter having dependable operating characteristics.

A further object of the invention is to provide a recoil starter havinga positive operating clutch mechanism for cooperating with engineflywheel mounted struc ture utilizing radially extendable dogs which arereadily extended outwardly in a positive manner for enggaement with aflywheel mounted clutch cup, and are locked in the declutching positionto prevent an inadvertent engagement of the dog with the cup, and alsominimize dog wear during engine vibration.

A further object of the invention is to provide a recoil starter forinternal combustion engines utilizing a syn thetic plastic rope pulleyhaving a rope receiving groove or recess of unique configuration whichminimizes binding and rope laying problems during recoiling andrewinding wherein a predetermined orientation of the rope coils in therope groove is achieved during recoiling. The controlled orientation ofthe coils in the rope groove during recoiling prevents rope bindingduring cranking and insures consistent starter rope tensioncharacteristics during each cranking operation.

In the practice of the invention a pulley shaft is mounted within astarter housing adapted to be connected to the engine shroud concentricto the flywheel axis of rotation. Air passage means are defined in thestarter housing wherein the usual circulating vanes mounted upon theflywheel may draw air through the starter housing for engine coolingpurposes. A synthetic plastic pulley of a light weight is rotatablymounted upon the shaft having a recess or groove defined therein whichincludes a radial shoulder having an axial dimension one half that ofthe rope groove, and rope guide means are defined in the rope groove tocontrol the manner in which the rope is coiled within the groove duringrotation of the rope pulley during the recoiling operation. Dogs arepivotally mounted upon the pulley for selective engagement with a cupmember mounted upon the engine flywheel coaxial with the pulley shaft.The dogs are located within the cup, and a dog cam mounted upon theshaft for frictional rotation thereto controls the radial position ofthe dogs. The cam dog is of a generally flat or plate configuration andincludes peripheral edge surfaces which pivot the dogs outward duringrotation of the pulley in a cranking direction, and an edge surfacedefined upon the cam dog serves as an abutment for cooperating with asurface defined on the dogs during recoiling, and at rest, to maintainthe dogs in their-inactive or radially inward position upon the pulleyrotating in a recoiling direction.

A starter construction in accord with the invention may be manufacturedand assembled with conventional techniques, and yet the requisitesnecessary with starters used with relatively large horsepower enginesare met.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The aforementioned objects andadvantages of the invention will be appreciated from the followingdescription and accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diametrical, elevational, cross-sectional view of a recoilstarter constructed in accord with the invention,

FIG. 2 is a sectional, bottom view taken along Section IIII of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a detailed sectioned view of the dogs, cam dog and flywneelcup similar to that of FIG. 2, but illustrating the dogs in the cupengaging and engine cranking position,

FIG. 4 is an elevational, sectional, diametrical view of anotherembodiment of recoil starter constructed in accord with the invention,

FIG. 5 is an underside view of the starter of FIG. 4 illustrating thedogs in the retracted position, the cup being shown in section forpurpose of illustration,

FIG. 6 is a detailed view of the dogs, dog cam and engine clutch cupillustrating the dogs in the cup engaging position,

FIG. 7 is an elevational, sectional view of a starter in accord with theinvention illustrating the starter rope and rope at the end of acranking operation, all of the rope coils having unwound from the pulleygroove, and prior to rotation of the pulley in a recoiling direction,

FIG. 8 is similar to FIG. 7, and illustrates the relationship of thestarter rope and the pulley at the completion of the recoiling of asingle rope coil,

FIG. 9 is similar to FIG. 8 illustrating the relationship of componentsat the completion of the recoiling of two coils of starter rope on therope pulley,

FIG. 10 is an enlarged, elevational, detail sectional view taken throughthe rope pulley periphery and groove along Section X-X of FIG. 7, and

FIG. 11 is an enlarged, elevational, detail sectional view taken alongXIXI of FIG. 9.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Two embodiments of recoilstarters utilizing the concepts of the invention are disclosed in thedrawings. The embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 3, and theembodiment illustrated in FIGS. 4 through 6, differ primarily in thefact that the starter shown in FIGS. 1 through 3 is for use with smallerhorsepower engines than the starter illustrated in FIGS. 4 through 5.The basic principals of operation, and the novel aspects, of the twostarter embodiments are identical, and both embodiments use a ropepulley having the features described in detail with respect to FIGS. 7through 11.

With reference to the starter illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 3, thestarter includes a housing 10, which is usually of a cast metalconstruction, which is bolted to the engine shroud encompassing theflywheel. The housing 10 includes bolt receiving holes 12, and aplurality of passages 14 are defined in the housing to per mit air toflow through the starter housing into the flywheel chamber under theinfluence of the flywheel vanes, not shown, formed on the flywheel inthe usual manner.

The housing also includes a rope bushing 16 which is in centralalignment with the groove of the rope pulley, as will be laterdescribed.

Internally, the housing 10 includes a boss 18 having a bore definedtherein for receiving the rope pulley shaft 20 which extends downwardlyfrom the boss 18. The shaft 20 is coaxially related to the engineflywheel 22, the flywheel axis defining the axis of rotation for theflywheel drive cup 24 bolted to the flywheel in the known manner.

A rope pulley 26 is rotatably mounted upon the lower portion of theshaft 20 and the pulley includes a central bore in which the sleevebearing 28 is located for providing a wear surface between the pulleyand shaft 20.

The pulley 26 is maintained upon the shaft by the shouldered bolt 30,threaded into the end of the shaft, and the washer 32.

The rope pulley 26 is formed from a synthetic plastic material, such asa co-poly carbonate which is reinforced with glass fiber. The materialmade by General Electric Company known as Lexan is suitable. Suchsynthetic material provides a light weight, has high strengthcharacteristics as required in this type of environment, and the use ofthe lightweight synthetic material in the rope pulley is of importantsignificance in that the relatively large internal combustion engineswith which the starters in accord with the invention are employedproduce severe vibrations. By making the pulley as light as possibleadverse effects produced by the vibration are minimized, and the factthat the hardness of the material of the pulley substantiallycorresponds to the hardness of the filaments of which the starter ropeis formed minimizes wear on the rope pulley. The advantages of thisrelationship are discussed in my U.S. Pat. No. 3,375,814.

The rope pulley 26 is of circular configuration and includes a ropereceiving groove 34 in which the starter rope 36 is received. The innerend of the rope is inserted through a rope opening defined in thegroove, and this rope end is knotted to affix the rope to the pulley.The outer end of the rope 36 extends through the rope bushing 16 and isattached to the handle 40 exteriorly accessible with respect to thehousing 1(1).

The rope pulley 26 includes a hub in which a pair of pivot pins 42 aremounted and extend downwardly to serve as pivot supports for the clutchdogs 44. The dogs 44 are pivotally mounted upon the pins 42 and aremaintained thereon by snap rings 46 which are received within annularrecesses defined upon the pins. A torsion spring 48 is disposed abouteach pin 42 having an end affixed with respect to the rope pulley, andanother end 50, FIG. 2, bears upon the dog to impose a biasing force onthe dog to pivot the dog inwardly toward the disengaging position.

The configuration of the dogs 44 is best appreciated from FIGS. 2 and 3,and the dogs include an outer clutch cup engaging surface 52 defined atthe forward end of the dog with respect to the direction of dog rotationduring engine cranking. The dogs also include a surface 54 adjacent theclutch engaging surface 52 for engagement with the dog cam during theinitial phase or cranking, and an abutment surface 56 which issubstantially radially disposed with the associated dog pivot axis isdefined upon each dog on the opposite side of its pivot axis withrespect to the cup engaging surface 52. The dogs 44 are preferably diecast or formed of a sintered metal.

Actuation of the clutch dogs 44 is achieved by a dog cam plate 58rotatably mounted upon the shaft 20 by means of the shouldered bolt 30.The dog cam is formed of sheet steel, and is of a generally flatconfiguration having a hub portion 60 set downwardly with respect to thedog cam peripheral portion. The periphery of the dog cam will beappreciated from FIGS. 2 and 3, and includes a dog engaging surface 62adapted to engage the dog surface 54 to radially outwardly position thedogs to produce engagement of the dogs with the flywheel clutch cup 24.

The dog cam configuration also includes a circular surface 64 whichprovides clearance for the dogs 44 and permits free rotation between thedogs and the dog cam, to a limited extent. Additionally, the dog cam 58includes a dog retaining surface 66 for each dog mounted upon the pulleywhich cooperates with the dog abutment surface 56 when the pulley isrewound in a rope recoiling direction, as ilustrated in FIG. 2. When thesurfaces 54 and 66 are in engagement, as in FIG. 2, the dogs 44 are notcapable of clockwise rotation with respect to their associated pivotaxis, FIG. 2, and thus are positively retained or locked againstclockwise rotation, which would permit the dog surfaces 52 to engage theflywheel clutch drive cup 24.

Rotation of the dog cam plate 58 relative to the shaft is frictionallyretarded due to the existence of friction forces produced by thecompression spring 68 interposed between the washer 32 and the cam hubportion 60. The biasing force produced by the spring 68 serves as abrake to resist rotation of the dog cam plate.

Rotation of the rope pulley 26 in a recoiling direction is produced by acoil spring 70 disposed about the housing boss 18 having one endconnected to the pulley, and another end connected to the housing boss.Thus, as the starter rope 36 is tensioned and the rope pulley is rotatedin a cranking direction, the spring 70 is wound to store a forcesufficient to rotate the pulley in a recoiling direction once thetension in the starter rope is released. In the disclosed embodiment thecoil spring 70 is mounted within a housing 72, and the mode ofattachment of the spring and its housing to the rope pulley is asdisclosed in my US Pat. No. 3,375,814.

The drive cup 24 is attached to the flywheel 22 by bolts, and the drivecup includes an axially extending wall portion 74 which is of sufficientheight to receive the dogs 44 and dog cam plate 58 as is appreciatedfrom FIG. I. The wall portion has a plurality of lanced teeth 76 definedtherein in a manner as will be appreciated from FIGS. 2 and 3.

In operation, the starter components are initially oriented as shown inFIGS. 1 and 2. The rope pulley 26 is fully recoiled under the influenceof the recoil spring 70, and the starter rope is fully coiled within thepulley groove 34. Under these conditions the handle 40 is disposedadjacent the rope bushing 16 as illustrated in FIG. 1. The dogs 44 arerelated to the dog cam plate 58 as shown in FIG. 2 wherein the abutmentsurface 56 is in engagement with the retaining surface 66 preventingclockwise rotation of the dogs, and insuring that the dog surfaces 52will not be in engagement with the drive cup teeth 76. In thisrelationship the engine may be at rest, or running, and if the engine isrunning, the fact that the dogs cannot be engaged by the rotating cupteeth prevents undesirable noise, or wear on the dogs.

Upon the operator grasping the handle 40 and tensioning the starterrope, the rope pulley will rotate in a counterclockwise direction, FIG.2, which causes the dog ends 52 and the clutch dogs 44 to move in acounterclockwise direction with respect to the dog cam plate 58. Suchrelative movement continues until the dog surfaces 54 engage the camsurfaces 62, which causes the dogs to pivot in a clockwise directionabout their respective pivot pins, and radially locate the dog surfaces52 for engagement with the cup teeth 76, as shown in FIG. 3. Uponengagement of the dog leading surfaces 52 with the cup teeth 76 the dogswill cause the drive cup 24 to rotate and thereby crank the engine forstarting the same.

When the engine starts, the drive cup 24 will rotate faster than therope pulley 26, causing the inclined surfaces 78 of the cup teeth toengage the dog outer surfaces 80 and pivot the dogs inwardly out of aninterfering relationship with the cup teeth 76. In this manner the dogs44 are quickly cleared form the cup teeth, and the biasing force imposedon the dogs by the springs 48 further insure that the dogs will be heldfrom engagement from the cup teeth.

The initial rotation of the dogs 44 in a counterclockwise direction dueto the force exerted by the inclined surfaces 78 causes the dog surfaces541 to be pressed against the dog cam surfaces 62, causing acounterclockwise rotation of the dog cam, and thereby permitting thecounterclockwise rotation of the dog. Upon the operator releasing thehandle 41 or reducing the tension therein, the spring 70 recoils therope pulley, causing the dog pivot pins to rotate in a clockwisedirection, FIG. 2, wherein the dogs relate to the dog cam as shown inFIG. 2 and are positively prevented from engaging the cup teeth 76 dueto the interengagement between the dog abutment surfaces 56 and the dogcam retaining surfaces 66. Thus, during engine operation the dogs 44will be locked in the retracted position and a positive holding of thedogs is achieved.

The starter embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 3 through 6 is of a heavyduty construction, and is identical, in many respects to the previouslydescribed embodiment and equivalent components are identified by primedreference numerals. In this embodiment a spring pin 82 is attached tothe housing 10' whereby the outer end of the recoil spring 84 may beattached to the housing by means of the pin, and the inner end of therecoil spring, not shown, is attached to the rope pulley 26.

As will be appreciated in FIGS. 5 and 6, three dog pivot pins 42' andclutch dogs 44 are mounted upon the rope pulley, and the dog cam plate58 includes three radially extending lobes upon which the appropriatesurfaces are defined for producing a dog and dog cam operation andrelationship identical to that previously described.

The engine flywheel mounted clutch cup 86 is of a heavy duty castconstruction and includes a plurality of teeth defined therein forselective engagement with the dog cup engaging surfaces 52.

Operation of the starter illustrated in FIGS. 4 through 6 is identicalto that previously described with respect to the operation of thestarter shown in FIGS. ll through 3 except that three dogs 44, ratherthan two, are simultaneously operated by the dog cam plate 58'.

Both of the previously described recoil starter embodiments utilize arope pulley 26 having a pulley groove 34 defined in the peripherythereof which is of a unique configuration for controlling the recoilingof the starter rope and minimizing the likelihood of starter ropeproblems during cranking, such as binding of the rope within the pulleygroove. The configuration of the starter pulley groove, and therelationship between the starter rope 36 and the pulley groove, is bestappreciated from FIGS. 7 through 11. The pulley groove 34 is defined bya pair of radially extending pulley sides 90 and 92 which are spacedapart a distance substantially equal to twice the diameter of thestarter rope 36. The base surface 94 constitutes a recess having anaxial width substantially equal to the rope diameter, and a radial depthapproximately equal to the rope radius.

Adjacent the base surface 94, an annular shoulder surface 96 is definedhaving a radius greater than the radius of the base surface by adistance approximately equal to that of the rope radius. It will benoted that the base surface 94 is formed with a concave surface, whilethe shoulder surface 96 is of a substantially cylindrical configuration.

The rope opening 38 defined in the rope pulley intersects the basesurface 94, and just to the right of the opening 38, FIG. 7, a ropeguiding depression 98 is defined in the pulley groove which intersectsthe base surface 94 adjacent the pulley side 90 and obliquely extendsacross the pulley groove to the pulley side 92. The shoulder surface 96is recessed in the region to the left of opening 38, FIG. 7, anddepression 98 extends into shoulder 96. The depression 98 defines apulley groove portion 100 of a generally triangular configuration havinga cross section that will be appreciated from FIG. 10.

The rope bushing 16 has an axis substantially centrally located withrespect to the pulley groove sides 90 and 92, and the relationship ofthe rope 36, pulley 26 and pulley opening 38 when the starter rope issubstantially fully extended, and prior to significant recoiling of therope on the pulley, is shown in FIG. 7. As illustrated in FIG. 7, thatportion of the rope indicated at 102 between the guide bushing 16 andthe opening 38 is aligned, and partially received within the groove basesurface 94.

As the pulley 26 rewinds under the influence of the recoil spring 70,the pulley opening 38 will be moving to the right, FIG. 7, and the firstcoil of the rope lies within the base surface 94 in that the basesurface defines the innermost portion of the pulley groove, and also dueto the alignment of the opening 38 with base surface 94. As the firstcoil is completed the rope will engage the guiding depression 98 whichshifts the rope toward the pulley side 92, FIG. 8, and out of alignmentwith the base surface 94 containing the first rope coil. Thus, it willbe appreciated that the relationship shown in FIG. 8 occurs at thecompletion of the first revolution of pulley rotation during recoiling.

In view of the orientation shown in FIG. 8, at the beginning of therecoiling of the second coil in the pulley, the second coil of starterrope will lie upon the shoulder surface 96 as this shoulder surface nowrepresents the innermost portion of the rope groove available forreceiving the rope, and the first rope coil, shoulder surface 96 andpulley side 92 now define the rope receiving recess for the second coil.

At the completion of the winding of the second coil of rope within thepulley groove the rope passes over the portion of the second coilpreviously received within the rope guiding depression 98, and the thirdcoil lies on top of the first rope coil received within the pulley base94. The beginning of the coiling of the third coil is shown in FIG. 9wherein the rope has passed over the initial rope portion received indepression 98.

In that the presence of the rope guiding depression 98 insures that thesecond coil will be wound upon the annular shoulder surface 96, and asthe pulley groove configuration insures that the coil will be directlydisposed over the supporting rope coil, binding of the rope within thepulley groove during engine cranking is prevented even though thetension occurring within the starter rope may be very high. Starters ofthe described type are of sufficient size such that the diameter of therope pulley is great enough to permit three or four coils of starterrope to be wound thereon, and the rope pulley must be of sufficientdiameter to permit sufficient torque to be applied to the engineflywheel for cranking.

The use of the plate type dog cam insures positive operation of theclutch dogs both during cranking and when retracted, and such operationis most important when employed with larger internal combustion engineswhich can easily destroy starter components if a malfunctioning occurs.Likewise, even though the cranking of larger sizes of engines withrecoil starters requires high rope tensions the unique pulleyconfiguration limiting the groove to two coils in an axial direction, inconjunction with the use of the base surface and shoulder surface,eliminates many of the problems heretofore encountered with recoilstarters used with larger engines. I

It is appreciated that modifications to the inventive concept may beapparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spiritand scope thereof.

I claim:

1. A recoil starter for internal combustion engines having a flywheeland axis of rotation and an annular clutch member coaxially mounted uponthe flywheel comprising, in combination, a housing adapted to be mountedupon the engine, a rope pulley shaft mounted upon said housing coaxialwith the engine flywheel axis of rotation, a rope pulley rotatablymounted upon said shaft, a recoil spring disposed about said shafthaving a first end connected to said housing and a second end connectedto said pulley, said rope pulley having a rope receiving groove definedtherein, a rope received within said groove having a first end connectedto said pulley and a second end, a handle mounted on said rope secondend exteriorly accessible with respect to said housing, a dog pivotallymounted on said pulley for oscillation about a pivot axis radiallyspaced from said flywheel axis of rotation located within said clutchmember and including a clutch member engageable surface extendingforward of said pivot axis and an abutment retaining surface extendingrearwardly of said pivot axis with respect to the direction of pulleyrotation during engine cranking, a dog cam of generally flatconfiguration formed of plate material rotatably mounted on said shaftand coaxial therewith and located intermediate said dog and dog pivotand said axis of rotation, brake means engaging said dog camfrictionally retarding rotation of said dog cam on said shaft, a dogextending surface defined on said dog cam disposed ahead of said dogclutch member engageable surface with respect to the direction of pulleyrotation during engine cranking engaged by said dog during crankingrotation of said pulley and pivoting said dog to extend said dog clutchmember engageable surface radially outward from said axis of rotationfor engagement with the engine clutch member to rotate the engineflywheel, and a dog retainer surface defined on said dog cam disposedbehind said dog pivot axis with respect to the direction of pulleyrotation during engine cranking engageable with said dog abutmentretaining surface to selectively hold said clutch member engageablesurface radially inward of the engine cluch member.

2. In a recoil starter as in claim 1 wherein said dog cam includes aradially extending arm, said dog extending surface being defined on saidarm, said dog retainer surface being defined on said arm behind the dogpivot axis with respect to the direction of pulley rotation duringengine cranking, said dog abutment retaining surface defined on said dogbeing engageable with said retainer surface upon recoiling of said ropeupon said pulley, said engagement of said abutment retaining surface andsaid retainer surface preventing pivoting of said dog in the directiondisposing said dog clutch member engageable surface radially outwardtoward the clutch member.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No.3,782,355 Dated January 1, 1974 Inventor(s) 1g ,1, Hangman It iscertified that error appears in the above-identified patent and thatsaid Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 10, line 2, cancel "comprises";

line 2, after "retaining surface" insert comprises Signed and sealedthis 23rd day of April 1971;.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD vM.FLIEI'ICHER,J'R. C. MARSHALL DANN Attesting OfficerCommissioner of Patents FORM PO-IOSO (10-69) USCOMM-DC 60376-P89 U.S.GOVERNMENT PRIIITING OFFICE 1 I969 036G-3

1. A recoil starter for internal combustion engines having a flywheeland axis of rotation and an annular clutch member coaxially mounted uponthe flywheel comprising, in combination, a housing adapted to be mountedupon the engine, a rope pulley shaft mounted upon said housing coaxialwith the engine flywheel axis of rotation, a rope pulley rotatablymounted upon said shaft, a recoil spring disposed about said shafthaving a first end connected to said housing and a second end connectedto said pulley, said rope pulley having a rope receiving groove definedtherein, a rope received within said groove having a first end connectedto said pulley and a second end, a handle mounted on said rope secondend exteriorly accessible with respect to said housing, a dog pivotallymounted on said pulley for oscillation about a pivot axis radiallyspaced from said flywheel axis of rotation located within said clutchmember and including a clutch member engageable surface extendingforward of said pivot axis and an abutment retaining surface extendingrearwardly of said pivot axis with respect to the direction of pulleyrotation during engine cranking, a dog cam of generally flatconfiguration formed of plate material rotatably mounted on said shaftand coaxial therewith and locateD intermediate said dog and dog pivotand said axis of rotation, brake means engaging said dog camfrictionally retarding rotation of said dog cam on said shaft, a dogextending surface defined on said dog cam disposed ahead of said dogclutch member engageable surface with respect to the direction of pulleyrotation during engine cranking engaged by said dog during crankingrotation of said pulley and pivoting said dog to extend said dog clutchmember engageable surface radially outward from said axis of rotationfor engagement with the engine clutch member to rotate the engineflywheel, and a dog retainer surface defined on said dog cam disposedbehind said dog pivot axis with respect to the direction of pulleyrotation during engine cranking engageable with said dog abutmentretaining surface to selectively hold said clutch member engageablesurface radially inward of the engine cluch member.
 2. In a recoilstarter as in claim 1 wherein said dog cam includes a radially extendingarm, said dog extending surface being defined on said arm, said dogretainer surface being defined on said arm behind the dog pivot axiswith respect to the direction of pulley rotation during engine cranking,said dog abutment retaining surface defined on said dog being engageablewith said retainer surface upon recoiling of said rope upon said pulley,said engagement of said abutment retaining surface and said retainersurface preventing pivoting of said dog in the direction disposing saiddog clutch member engageable surface radially outward toward the clutchmember.
 3. In a recoil starter as in claim 2 wherein said dog abutmentcomprises retaining surface a surface defined on said dog substantiallyradially disposed with respect to the associated dog pivot axis.
 4. In arecoil starter as in claim 2 wherein said dog extending surface and saiddog retainer surface constitute edge surfaces of said dog cam at leastpartially defining the periphery of said dog cam.